AL 53
Carrying AL 53 over UNNAMED TRIBUTARY
5.6 MI.S. JCT.US431 231, Madison, Alabama
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
AL 53 in Madison, Alabama sits above 82% of rated Alabama bridges on inventory load rating (50 t), while its 2004 build year is earlier than 13% of Madison's recorded-year cohort (710 bridges).
AL 53 in Madison, Alabama is rated Fair in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 2004, it carries 1 rated component on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 6. The lowest applicable rating sets the federal condition category, so this Fair result describes the weakest reported component rather than the structure as a whole. No NBI category is a closure decision or a live crossing-safety verdict.
NBI record plate
Structure AL:018698
POST-2000 · CONCRETE · LONG-SPAN-RUN · CULVERT-LED · HEAVY-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-FAIR
- POST-2000 2000+
- CONCRETE Concrete
- LONG-SPAN-RUN 4 spans
- CULVERT-LED Culvert-led
- HEAVY-ADT Heavy ADT
- HEAVY-LOAD Heavy load
- CAT-FAIR Fair
Inspection-sheet codes from this record’s year, material family, spans, controlling component, ADT, inventory load, and NBI category, not a live closure verdict.
Structural health score
A composite of the deck, superstructure, and substructure NBI condition ratings plus the inventory load rating, benchmarked against the full national bridge corpus, distinct from the Good/Fair/Poor category above.
Bridge Snapshot: AL 53
The AL 53 bridge in Madison, Alabama carries AL 53 over UNNAMED TRIBUTARY. It was built in 2004, making it 22 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 4 sections, stretching 10.3 meters (34 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 46,257 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-trafficked tier of Alabama bridges. It is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection places the weakest component in fair condition (see the full component ratings below). No reported major component scores in the Poor range under the current federal condition thresholds.
How AL 53 compares
Age against the county: built in 2004, earlier than 90 of Madison's 710 bridges with a recorded construction year (13%), against a county median build year of 1970. This is one of the newer structures in its county.
Live comparison across Alabama bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (16,191 of 16,205 rated).
AL 53 vs every rated Alabama bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
50 Top 18% higher than 82% of 16,191 bridges
rated Alabama bridges, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more bridges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory · August 2026
Condition Ratings
Full 0–9 scale + sufficiency-rating breakdown: how condition ratings work.
Madison inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 710 bridges in this county. Orthogonal to this structure's component profile above: a county catalog share, not a live crossing-safety verdict.
Structural Details
- Year Built
- 2004
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 4
- Structure Length
- 10.3 m (34 ft) 0
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 46,257 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 018698
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
This page shows what the last federal inspection recorded, not whether AL 53 is safe to cross today. Here is how to use it.
- NBI condition ratings reflect the latest record in this annual dataset, not a live status. Current routine inspection intervals are risk-based.
- Learn how the 0–9 condition scale and Good/Fair/Poor categories are defined. How condition ratings work
- Compare AL 53 against other structures in Madison and across Alabama. Alabama bridges
- Noticed visible damage or a safety concern? Report it to the agency that owns the bridge, or call 911 in an emergency. How to report a bridge
Condition codes come straight from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory and are not a real-time safety judgment. Only the owning agency, a state DOT, county, or other owner, can post, restrict, or close a bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the condition ratings mean for AL 53?
AL 53 in Madison, Alabama on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is AL 53 inspected?
AL 53's responsible agency sets its routine interval under FHWA's risk-based inspection rules; this page does not expose the scheduled interval. It carries about 46,257 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. AL 53 is currently shown as Fair condition from its component ratings; that category is not a live closure or safety decision.
What is the inventory load rating for AL 53?
AL 53 has an NBI inventory load rating of 49.7 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining AL 53?
AL 53 is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is AL 53 and does age affect safety?
AL 53 was built in 2004, making it 22 years old.
Share this inspection record
Send this source-bounded record or download its data card. An NBI condition category is not a closure or live crossing-safety verdict.
Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Component ratings, ADT, and condition category on this page are copied from the NBI record for this structure; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 NBI release. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.